Preparations

Tuesday, Mom finished up Zachary's Santa Halloween costume. I was there for a little while, but truthfully I didn't do much. She is a saint, that woman. No sewing project is too daunting. I also ran to Blooms and Berries to buy 27 pumpkins for a crazy game for Jeremy's class party. Then, I went straight to school to deliver the pumpkins, work in the library, and help out at Pumpkin Math (which is a crazy lot of fun and educational to boot). The weather was terrible here that day, and the whole class together with teacher and parents spent a few minutes in the tornado drill area -- the girls' bathroom.

I was planning on taking the boys to karate right after school, but as soon as Jeremy and I got in the car after getting him from school, we found Zachary had just thrown up. So, karate was out. Instead, we went home and hung out and relaxed. It was actually kind of nice. Tim had a meeting at church, so I had to miss MomsNext again.

Wednesday, I went to the gym with Ann, then to the last Granny's Garden of the fall. Zachary was at Leap, so I didn't get to garden with him, but it was fun anyhow. Those kids are really a blast. We picked up our last produce pickup of the year at Grailville, too. I got some pretty good shots of the boys at the farm. (The new T1i had arrived earlier in the day.)

Today, I ran some errands with Mom and finished getting ready for Jeremy's class party game. Tonight was BUNCO. I'm tired and ready for a day off!!

Busy

Whew! Made it through day 1 of a busy week. Z coughed non-stop Sunday and then got sick all over his bedroom. We obviously kept him home from school today. He was feeling OK, but he was very lethargic. I took him to my mom's so I could go to my Podiatrist appointment. He confirmed that I have Plantar Fasciitis and gave me some steroids, exercises, celebrex, and orders to ice my foot for 1/2 hour 3 times a day. Really? I get to sit still for 1/2 hour 3 times a day?! Yay!

Then, I went and got Zachary so we could go to HIS doctor appointment. Dr. Wallace put him back on asthma medicine and wants him to be on it every fall. The appointment was quick, but 2 hours and $285 later, we were finally out of the Kroger pharmacy with our prescriptions. Ugh.

Jeremy had Sandtray after school. One of the moms asked if Zachary and I were going to do something special together. Zachary thought that was a good idea, so we headed over to Nisbet park. Z played hide-and-seek and talked to a kindergarten-aged girl. When she was leaving, he said, "Bye... I love you." I really need to teach this kid not to say I Love You to someone he just met. I don't want him to be one of THOSE kind of guys! On the way back to the car he told me, "That was a really lovely idea she had for us to do something special together." Yes, it was!

Zachary went back to Grandma's, and I took Jeremy right to Cub Scouts. It was pumpkin carving night. Fun! Jeremy said the pumpkin guts smell "horrible," and he refused to touch them. I did finally get his pumpkin carved. Tim arrived home after a dinner at Ferrari's with co-workers at about 8:30 PM. I was exhausted by then!

Kings Island

We took the kids to King's Island today. It was our first time since 2008, I think. We bought season passes for next year, and we get one free visit this year, too. Zachary is tall enough to ride all of the adult rides now. Jeremy is just barely 48" tall. He can ride everything but the wildest roller coasters. This bugs him a lot, because he can't ride Diamondback and Zachary can, but Zachary doesn't want to. We rode the Monster, Scrambler, Bumper Cars, Shake Rattle & Roll, The Log Ride, the lay on your belly and go in a circle ride, the helicopters in kiddie land, and the old Scooby Doo ride. Then, we ended the day with the Racer, which Zachary HATED. During the Shake Rattle and Roll ride, he told me, "Mom, I'm not screaming in amusement, I'm screaming in HORROR." What a kid.

Idol Friday

Zachary had "Idol Friday" at school today. I really thought he was saying "Idle" Friday at first. What an awful theme for a school day. Anyhow, once I figured it out, I asked him what the kids sang. He said, "I don't know. I don't really enjoy the music that the average kid does." Really, Zachary? Does that bother you at all? "MOM, I just like what I like. I can't change that." How did he figure this out so young?

Bumps and Such

Poor Jeremy broke his one big front permanent tooth today. Very sad. He was pulling a big cart of pumpkins at Blooms and Berries. (We had just gotten some really fun pictures in the sunflower field.) There was a whole audience of Cub Scouts and parents there to view the aftermath. Dr. Leary got us in right away, and he was fixed up before dinnertime. Yay for that.

Fall Weekend

We're enjoying a warm fall weekend here at the Case House. Thursday night involved a trip to see Miss Melinda for Zachary (playing at Darby's house for Jeremy), a quick dinner of spaghetti, and 3 karate classes. Friday, I had a nice morning scrapbooking with Colleen, then a great afternoon in the library at Zachary's school. Zachary's class didn't even come in (they were having their end of the month movie and McDonald's), but I still loved it. I read to one class, too - Horton Hears a Who.
Today, we were lazy in the morning, then we went to Rachel's new place to help her assemble her new IKEA bookshelves. Nice! While in Norwood, we just couldn't resist getting lunch at Quatman's. Yummy! All 5 of us had the cheeseburger special (cheeseburger, pop, and fries for $6.19). Jeremy had his sans cheese. Both boys ate like champs - Zachary leaving only one small bite of cheeseburger and Jeremy eating the whole burger and leaving some fries. What kids!

Jeremy insisted on decorating for Halloween today. It's not much, but we did put out a few things (some pumpkin lights and little knick-knacks).

Fall Days

Time continues to fly by. We had a great day Saturday with Emily and Susie at the Great Lakes Science center. So much cool stuff to see and do. Sunday, we enjoyed a lovely church service and lunch at Chipotle before driving back to Cincinnati. Four hours seemed like a long way to drive on my own, and I'm not sure if the boys' frequent bathroom stops made it easier or harder on me.

This week, I've done karate classes, a nice cool night at the Earthshares garden, a trip to the orthopedic doctor with Mom, Granny's Garden at Zachary's school, and even one evening mostly at home. Tonight, we made bread like what Zachary ate in his Sunday school class. He's right - it was pretty yummy. Tomorrow, thankfully, I have a whole day at home (until the after-school activities start, that is).

Cleveland (Rocks?)

The boys and I made it safely to Cleveland last night. Why would I want to do such a thing as take 2 kids to Cleveland by myself, you ask? The Loughners, of course! We left after school, around 4:40. Dinner was White Castle at the most congested exit in the universe, I-71 exit 100 in Columbus. Mistake! Jeremy had to stop an hour later to go to the bathroom, and Zachary used that opportunity to buy fries at McDonalds with a gift card he got for his birthday! I don't think he was hungry, he just wanted to use the gift card. After only the 2 stops, we arrived at the Loughner's place at 9:15 PM. It all went more smoothly than I expected, actually!

Business

Busy, busy day. Went to the gym with Ann (yay, us!). (We both HATE it and complain about it alot, but we went. That's all that counts.) Quick shower and lunch at home, then to LECC for library volunteer time. Back home, got Zachary off the bus, picked Jeremy up at school. Straight to Patten's for 2 karate classes. Tim met us there, I left to grab a black bean wrap at Veg Head then to Earthshares garden. Picked cherry tomatoes and green beans. Home for a few minutes only to leave again to scrapbook with Colleen. Had fun making some 2004 Halloween pages. Zachary is working hard to earn Tiger Tallies so he has 100 by the end of the month. He's already earned a trip to McDonald's with his teacher. Now he's going for a free book. Jeremy was covered in syrup from French Toast Sticks at lunch in the cafeteria.

Birthday Weekend

What a fun weekend! On Friday afternoon, Tim's parents arrived at our house. Tim's mom walked to Zachary's bus stop with me and the dogs. Zachary hopped of the bus and immediately greeted us with a, "Hi, Mom! Hi, Grandma!" and a smile. Nice. We had a family birthday party on Friday evening. I was so glad that despite the last minute notice (we didn't decide until about Wednesday exactly when we were going to have the party), Pam, Vince, Mike, Louise, Rachel, Lauren, Auntie, Grandma Hicks, and the older and younger Case clans were there. It was a nice evening. Zachary really enjoyed the party, dinner, his gifts, and everything. Jeremy had picked out trick birthday candles as a surprise for Zachary. He could hardly contain his excitement as we sang Happy Birthday. I was worried about how Zachary would react, but he was fine. I had decided on an easy dinner of Honeybaked Ham, and asked Zachary if there was anything else special he wanted to have. He requested carrots and celery and "one of those trays with cheese and meat." Then he informed me that, "I think Aunt Louise can handle that." She was more than happy to bring a pre-made Hormel salami, pepperoni, and cheese tray for Zachary!

Saturday evening, Mom and Dad watched the boys while Tim and I went to see the Bearcats play Oklahoma at Paul Brown Stadium. Kent and Mindy, their friends Larry and Amy, and another high school friend, Eric, and his wife Dimita were there, too. It was a MUCH better game than we expected and it's always great to get out without the kids for a little while. I think Mom and Dad and the boys did well, too. They ordered pizza and watched Ice Age. The boys just loved the movie, and I think Mom and Dad liked watching them watch the movie.

Sunday, after teaching Sunday School, I took the boys to the Kruse's house for Sam's birthday party. They had hired Mr. Cowpie. Sounds crazy, but Mr. Cowpie throws a great birthday party. He brings all sorts of animals and takes the kids on pony rides. Sam seemed to love it. Jeremy had a great time too. There were tons of kids there, so Zachary wasn't too happy. We met Tim and his parents for lunch at El Picante after the party.

I was exhausted from staying up too late on Saturday, so I took a nap Sunday afternoon, then we took the boys to Mom's and went to Disciple class. I brought a chocolate cheeseball. It was the only thing I could think of to make with what I already had in the house. Yum!

More Old Times

Days Gone By

Just found this video from early October 2005. My baby wasn't quite 2 years old. How did he grow up so fast?

Serenity

Last night, I picked beans at Earthshares. There had just been a quick, heavy downpour, and the evening could not have been more beautiful. A thin layer of fog and mist rolled over the fields, the sun was setting, and big, puffy clouds moved through the sky. At one point, I noticed a big grasshopper near me. Each time I moved to the next bean plant, he did too. In this way, he stuck by me for some time. We watched each other some, and I enjoyed my time with the handsome little guy.

First Day

My sweet boys on their first day of school. Back to the routine - four bus stops! I'm beside myself with the knowledge that my baby is in first grade. I will be on my own from 8:45 until 3:30 every day. What will I do?

Goodbye, Summertime!

Where did the summer go? What a great one it was. We ended it with a fun day at the Museum Center. (First we dropped poor Goober off at PAWS for his "man surgery." I wasn't too worried, because I knew he was in the best possible hands.) We spent most of our museum-time in the Natural History Museum. I was surprised at how much the kids enjoyed it. There was some great exhibits and lots of volunteers giving all sorts of presentations. The bats were my favorite. We did squeeze in an Omnimax Movie (Legends of Flight) and a quick trip to the ball area of the Children's Museum.We rushed back to PAWS to get Goober, then dropped him off to rest at home in his crate. Our next stop was LECC, where we met Jeremy's first grade teacher, Mrs. Bebout. I think he'll have a great first grade year. Then, we drove (with Tim) to LES to meet Zachary's teachers. The 2 teacher thing will be different, but he'll probably do fine. They both seem great. Z wanted to stop in to see Mrs. Kenny and Mrs. Kieffer. They are both so sweet (not to mention that they are fabulous teachers), and it made me a bit nostalgic. Mrs. Kieffer seemed genuinely bummed out that she didn't get Jeremy in her class. I can't believe we won't ever have her as a teacher again.

Home Again

Today was a perfect day to settle back in to being at home. Bags unpacked: check. Laundry nearly done: check. Groceries purchased: check. A little relaxation: check. Now, sadly, real life will begin tomorrow.

Day Twenty Two: So Long

We pulled out of the cabin driveway at 6:30 AM and arrived home at 12:20 AM (both local times). We would have made better time had I not insisted on going to the cheese store in Caston, Wisconsin. This involved back roads for 2+ hours of the trip. Sorry, Tim! Otherwise, it was an uneventful drive home. We listened to the first Harry Potter book, and even Zachary enjoyed it. We still have one disc to go, and want to finish it soon!

Day Twenty One: Packing

Today was mostly spent packing, but we did manage to squeeze in a little fun. We swam for a long time in the afternoon, then we took the canoe with boys + Goober to "Picnic Island." The boys and dog got out, while Tim and I stayed in the canoe. Goober brought his tennis ball along, then dropped it in the lake. We had lots of fun tossing it up the hill for him and watching him chase it down.
For dinner, we drove to Ely and ate at the Grand Ely Lodge. I don't think I've ever been there for dinner. I was surprised at how tasty it was. There was a nice view of a beautiful sunset over Shagawa to boot. As we were leaving, we noticed the rainbow over town. It was another night of gorgeous skies, and made me even sadder to have to go home.

Day Twenty: Recovery

Thursday was supposed to be rainy, but again the rain held almost completely off, and we had a nice day at the cabin. Mom and I had thought about going to town, but decided against it. The boys swam with Tim in the morning. I was nursing a headache, so I finished my book and relaxed in our room while they swam. The kids just played outside for much of the day. After a late lunch, we took the boat to "Case Island" in Lake 2. We went back to the springholes to look around and fished a bit on our way back. Back at the cabin, I swam while Tim played card games with Jeremy, and Zachary goofed around outside. It wasn't sunny, but it was still a nice afternoon to enjoy the lake. We had a late dinner of spaghetti, then Tim and I went out fishing. We didn't catch anything, but no matter. What an amazing evening. The sky was clearing a bit and was bright orange. Of course, I didn't bring my camera, but maybe that allowed me to enjoy it even more in real life. We saw a couple of bats flying low around us again tonight.

When we got home, we played a fun game of penny in the pot with the kids. When I asked Zachary about his favorite part of the vacation, he said, "Emily and sour octopi." What a kid!

Day Nineteen: The Echo Trail

We left the cabin with dogs and boys at 10:30 AM bound for adventure. After a stop in Ely for some water and a new collar for Goober, se set off on the Echo Trail, which is less a trail and more a 40-something mile gravel road through the middle of nowhere. Really, pretty much through nothing, as it goes through a small area bounded on both sides by the BWCAW. There are lakes from time to time, and occasionally even a driveway or National Forest Campground. I remember hearing how my grandparents loved to pick blueberries "up Echo Trail." I have no idea where on Echo Trail they did this. Tim and I drove that way the second time we went into the Boundary Waters (at S. Hegman Lake). I had never driven the whole thing.

Our first stop was at Bass Lake. There is a 5+ mile trail around the lake, but we decided to start small with a hike to Dry Falls (named for Dry Lake, the source of the falls). It was just around 1.5 miles round trip, but it was a pretty rugged hike for the dogs and boys. The falls were lovely - Zachary and I swam in the small area at the top of the falls. Jeremy seemed to love the hike (he says he is "addicted to excercise" now), and he narrated the entire hike back to the car. The dogs were completely worn out by it.

We went across the road to see the boat access for Little Long Lake, then continued up Echo Trail. We had considered camping at Lake Jeanette this year, but never had a weather report that made us think we'd be able to do it without getting rained on. So, we visited the campground on our way by. Primitive is the best way to describe it. There are only 12 sites (though there was a pit toilet WITH WALLS!) , and the campground host stays at another campground several miles up the road. It does look like a beautiful lake, with lots of rocky islands. Maybe next year we'll give it a try.

Not too many miles later was Echo Lake. This is the other National Forest Campground. It's a bit bigger than Jeanette with a playground and small beach. It seemed like a great little place until we got out at the beach, and we were completely accosted by mosquitos. It was so bad that we went running back to the car where were quickly closed the door and must have killed about 30 mosquitos over the next 5 minutes. The boys turned this into a game, calling me green leader and Tim red leader. We were supposed to spot and anihilate "targets." At any rate, we're pretty sure we don't want to stay at Echo Lake any time soon.

At the end of Echo Trail, we turned north and visited Vermillion Falls near Crane Lake. I wasn't prepared for the quantity or power of the water rushing over the falls. Just beautiful and humbling.

Finally, we drove back home through Orr (where the boys and I had been just over a week before to see the bears). Zachary complained a bit, but I think both boys enjoyed the hike. Mom had chicken wings and pierogies waiting for us at home. We had dinner, played a game of penny in the pot, and put the boys to bed. We rounded out the night with our second game of Pinochle, which I lost.

Day Eighteen: Hot, Hot, Hot!

Today the temperature reached nearly 90 degrees here. That may not sound like much, but for northern Minnesota it's HOT. I did some much needed cleaning this morning (our room stayed pretty cool with the big fan running), then I went to the lake to cool off while the boys watched Spongebob and Tim went fishing in the canoe with Josey. Eventually, the kids came out to swim, and Tim came back, and we had another afternoon in the lake. It was great, though it's an odd sensation to be cold (lake water) and hot (air) at the same time. Tim and I even had a chance to play Blokus in the screenhouse. I came in around 3PM and read for a bit before falling asleep for a nice afternoon nap. My first real nap of the vacation. As napping is one of my favorite things, lasting into the third week of vacation with no nap is a feat!

Dinner was burgers on the grill, tater tots (boys' choice), and brussel sprouts. Yummy. We went out fishing again after dinner. This time we took Goober AND Josey. Goober nearly jumped into the lake after the sunfish when we threw them back. He also came close to eating a worm. The boys had an awesome time again. When we got back, we played a round of penny in the pot and sent boys to bed.

Day Seventeen: Timber!

This morning, we had some guys take down a huge (>70ft) Norway Pine that died a couple of years ago. They're the same family that took down 20+ trees 15 years ago when we were building the addition to the cabin. Now, the boys that helped their dad clean up the brush back then are grown and are the ones who climb the tree and saw of huge limbs on the way up. They then take the tree down in 15-20 foot sections on the way back down. Mom told Zachary he had to watch, because she was paying $300 for the show (a steal, if you ask me!). Jeremy yelled, "Timber" each time a branch came crashing down. I think both boys enjoyed it. When the guy got to the top, Zachary said, "Well, I KNOW I don't want to do that when I grow up!" After they left, we spent the morning cleaning up the yard. Jeremy was a HUGE help and kept talking about how much exercise he was getting. Zachary helped a little, but we kept having to drag him back outside. Tim sawed any usable limbs up into firewood. We all helped stack. Finally, after lunch, I let the boys quick working and took them down to the lake to swim. It was a really warm day! We moved rocks to the shoreline - now there Zachary was a huge help. We pretty much swam and stayed outside all afternoon.

Dinner was tacos - the boys loved it. After dinner, I was exhausted, but we took the boys out fishing anyhow. After a dismal half hour or so, we finally gave in and just let them fish for sunfish. It is WAY more fun than real fishing, because though we get nothing to eat, the kids actually catch fish. They LOVE it. We stayed out from 7PM until dark. They LAUGHED and named each fish and had a great time. It was such a long day, I went to bed as soon as the kids did!

Day Sixteen: Laundry

We managed to accumulate three huge loads of laundry, so after church this morning, Tim, the boys, and I went to the Speed Wash. It went pretty smoothly and quickly - almost makes me want to go to a laundromat at home. After we started the wash, we were able to run across the street for yummy coffees. It took us only 1 1/2 hours to do what it would take all day to do at home.

Lunch was at Sir G's. We had tried to eat there a few years ago, went in, waited 15 minutes for any kind of service, and walked out. This time was a much different experience. Delicious salads and pizza and decent service. After a bit of shopping and a trip to Skube's for leeches and a new Jitterbug and Lazy Ike, we headed back home. What a pretty afternoon on the lake. It wasn't completely sunny, but it was very warm with just a slight breeze. I was so tired (I think dogs kept me awake last night), I laid on the dock for a little while. Tim worked on putting new line on some rods, and then the boys and I swam. I was only a little undone when Mom spotted the HUGE turtle swimming about 30 yards away from us. I managed to believe it was a log until I was actually out of the water, and only then did I see the head AND tail and start to wig out a little. We saw it head downshore - Tim, J, and I got in the canoe to see it up close, but we never did really get a good look. I even got back in the water and swam more after it left. The boys worked hard gathering rocks for the shoreline.


We finally headed in to make a light dinner. Z, J, and I had peanut butter and jelly (Z and I w/ bananas), and Tim had bratts. We had popcorn while watching the Bengal's pre-season game. I never imagined I'd see a Bengal's game at the cabin! Tim and J went fishing, but didn't catch anything.